Red Hook NY Rising Community Reconstruction Plan
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Red Hook NY Rising Community Reconstruction Plan MARCH 2014 NY Rising Community Reconstruction Program NY Rising Community Reconstruction Program—Red Hook Executive summary The Red Hook NY Rising Community Reconstruction (NYRCR) Plan Red Hook and the NY Rising Community showcases the results of an intensive community-based resiliency Reconstruction Plan planning process and is driven by the local knowledge and collaboration of Red Hook residents. Red Hook was devastated by Superstorm Sandy The Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery has allocated up to $3 million in with critical housing, economic, social, natural, and infrastructure systems Federal Community Development Block Grant–Disaster Recovery (CDBG- impacted. DR) monies to fund eligible recovery and resiliency projects in the Red Hook Planning Area. Over a year later the impact continues to reverberate throughout the community, as residents and businesses struggle to address the physical The Planning Area, spanning 1.3 square miles and including 12,400 and financial damage the storm caused and grapple with the uncertainty of residents, is a dynamic mixed-use neighborhood with a unique character what future storms and other disruptive events may bring. and discernible small-town feel. Notable Community features include prominent industrial, manufacturing, and maritime assets along with Through the recovery process the Red Hook community showed great growing mixed-use commercial corridors, a wealth of open space, and strength, coordination, and goodwill and spearheaded a remarkable a diverse population comprised of both new and longtime residents. grassroots response. The NYRCR Plan captures the Community’s experience The neighborhood’s character is framed by the historic significance and during and after Sandy and its vision for making Red Hook stronger and evolving composition of its working waterfront, peninsular nature, and more resilient in the future. relative isolation from the rest of Brooklyn due to the Gowanus Expressway. Red Hook is a changing Community. Over the years residential uses have grown while industrial and manufacturing activity has decreased. Proposed developments such as a new hotel, galleries, and new housing would significantly alter the fabric of the Community. While these developments may usher in welcome economic improvements, they also pose risks for the affordability and overall mixed-use balance of Red Hook. Addressing resiliency within this diverse context presents unique challenges and opportunities. Contents 9 Red Hook—NY Rising Community Reconstruction Program Superstorm Sandy’s impact and the recovery Storm surge from Superstorm Sandy inundated almost the entire neighborhood, resulting in extensive damage to homes and businesses and profoundly impacting lives and livelihoods. Flooding resulted in extensive building damage and disruption to the neighborhood’s infrastructure, which had a disproportionate impact on vulnerable populations including the residents of the New York City Housing Authority’s (NYCHA) Red Hook Houses. The Community’s businesses were also disrupted and remain profoundly affected by the storm’s impacts. While Superstorm Sandy revealed Red Hook’s many vulnerabilities, it also revealed its capacity for unprecedented cooperation and action. Red Hook residents, community-based organizations, businesses, and regional partners rallied in response, piecing together an essential system of distribution and support with limited resources. There are innumerable stories of neighbors helping neighbors and support pouring in from communities near and far. The Community’s mobilization and organization has become a regional precedent for grassroots organizing and response. In the wake of Sandy, Red Hook businesses and residents went to great lengths to support the Community (top). Debris cleanup required after Sandy was extensive (bottom). Source: Jojo Demirel (top); Jim Tempakis (bottom). 10 Contents NY Rising Community Reconstruction Program—Red Hook A community driven process The NYRCR Plan builds on the neighborhood capacity and experience developed in the wake of Sandy. The Red Hook Planning Committee— comprised of residents, civic leaders, and business owners—served as the leaders of this process and took on the challenging role of creating a unified vision for Red Hook’s resiliency needs and priorities across this varied Community. The Committee embraced the opportunity the NYRCR Program provided not only to develop a resiliency plan, but also to engage a broad swath of the Community, integrating a myriad of ideas in order to generate a unified and inclusive set of priorities for shaping Red Hook’s future.The Planning Committee guided an extensive community engagement process fueled by 14 Planning Committee Meetings, three Public Engagement Events, and multiple additional engagement meetings. Many efforts are already underway by public agencies, utilities, and non- profits in the Red Hook Community and the Planning Committee worked to understand the initiatives and to avoid the duplication of efforts. Avoiding redundancy and leveraging knowledge already gained is a priority of the Committee as Red Hook builds toward a resilient future. Residents input at Public Engagement #1 in October, 2013 (above) and Public Engagement #3 in February 2014 (below) shaped the NYRCR Plan. Source: Carolina Salguero (bottom photo) Contents 11 Red Hook—NY Rising Community Reconstruction Program Community vision statement “Empowered by the spirit of unity that helped the Red Hook community survive Superstorm Sandy, our vision for a resilient and thriving future is to work as a holistic community to strengthen the his- toric waterfront Red Hook Peninsula by minimizing differences and maximizing cooperation among all who live and work here. Mindful of the growing climate-related risks to our beloved community and the immediate need for improved emergency preparedness measures, our actions will serve to help to develop measures that will protect our neighborhood from flood inundation, increase the safety of our citizens, and move towards a resil- ient community. We are committed to maintaining and expanding affordable housing and increased economic activity with an emphasis on local job development, recognizing the importance of their interdependence. Our rebuilding efforts towards a resilient and sustainable community are focused on a sincere triple bottom line integration of environ- ment, economy, and community, which will require substantial improvement to our long-neglected infrastructure including sewers, transportation, communications, power and energy provision, and Community members gather at Red Hook Fest at Valentino Pier Park. Source: education.” Carolina Salguero 12 Contents NY Rising Community Reconstruction Program—Red Hook Critical issues A blueprint for future resiliency Red Hook residents and Planning Committee members identified numerous The NYRCR Plan for Red Hook offers a blueprint for implementation vulnerabilities and resiliency issues that were brought to light in the wake of the goals and vision of Red Hook residents. The Plan identifies of Superstorm Sandy. The Committee’s focus extended far beyond critical resiliency strategies and recommends Proposed and Featured resiliency to issues of economic development, equity, and sustainability. Projects. Proposed Projects are projects that the Planning Committee has Recognizing that climate change will force the adaptation of Red Hook’s recommended be funded through their Community’s CDBG-DR allocation. physical and cultural landscape, the Planning Committee sought resiliency Featured Projects are innovative projects that the Committee is highlighting improvements that could serve the greatest number of residents, provide in the NYRCR Plan and potential second phases that would result from economic co-benefits such as job creation, and be implemented quickly, Proposed Projects. resulting in immediate benefits. Much attention was given to emergency preparedness, capacity building, small business resiliency, chronic sewer Recovery support functions system issues, and broader economic development strategies. The New York State Department of State (NYS DOS) has recommended a structure for each plan focused on a set of criteria, known as Recovery Support Functions. These Recovery Support Functions were utilized when developing needs, opportunities, strategies and projects to ensure that a comprehensive approach is reinforced throughout the effort to shape a comprehensive resiliency strategy for the Community. New York Rising Community Reconstruction Plan Six Recovery Support Functions Contents 13 Red Hook—NY Rising Community Reconstruction Program Strategies and projects Strengthen community capacity to prepare for, respond to, and recover Create opportunities for alternative and/or redundant power generation from emergencies and distribution Relief center network (Proposed). Fund the creation of a network of Red Hook Houses microgrid feasibility study (Proposed). Conduct a relief centers to house the coordination of relief services following a feasibility study for a microgrid that can provide backup power for Red disaster, such as provision of food, water, power, medical services, and Hook Houses—home to 50% of the Red Hook Community—during an information. emergency. Implementation of the project could occur during a second phase (Featured). Emergency backup generator for health and social services provider (Proposed). Purchase and install one fixed generator for a health and Increase